Table Of ContentThis is the latest volume to appear in the successful 'Cambridge
History of Modem France’, and is the most authoritative account
available in English of the presidency of Georges Pompidou. Pompidou
consolidated the constitutional changes made by de Gaulle, to the
extent that he is now regarded as the Fifth Republic’s second founding
father, and continued de Gaulle’s haughty attitudes to foreign policy.
He also launched a programme of modernization and industrialization:
under Pompidou France saw both the climax and the end of the post
war boom. Serge Berstein and Jean-Pierre Rioux analyse the politics of
the period, and also give an overview of France’s economy, culture and
society. Their comprehensive study contains all the standard features,
such as maps, chronology and tables, which have helped this series to
establish itself as the premier multi-volume account of modem France.
Students, scholars and teachers in history and political studies will find
this volume invaluable.
serge Berstein is Professor of History at the Institut d’Etudes
Politiques, Paris, and the author of The Republic of de Gaulle, La
République sur le fil and numerous other books on modem French
history.
jean-pierre Rioux is Director of Research at the Institut d’Histoire
du Temps Présent, Paris. His many books include The Fourth Republic,
1944-1958 and Pour une histoire culturelle.
The Cambridge History of Modern France
9 The Pompidou Years, 1969-1974
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This book is also part of the Cambridge History of Modern France, a multi
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series as a whole forms a comprehensive, coherent and up-to-date history of
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For a list of titles in the series, please see end of book
The Pompidou Years,
1969-1974
SERGE BERSTEIN
Professor of History, Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris
and
JEAN-PIERRE RIOUX
Director of Research, Institut d’Histoire du Temps Présent, Paris
Translated by
CHRISTOPHER WOODALL
Cambridge
UNIVERSITY PRESS
EDITIONS DE
LA MAISON DES SCIENCES DE L’HOMME
Paris
PUBLISHED BY THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK http://www.cup.cam.ac.uk
40 West 20th Street, New York NY 10011 -4211, USA http://www.cup.org
10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia
and Editions de la Maison des Sciences de 1’Homme
54 Boulevard Raspail, 75270 Paris Cedex 06, France
Originally published in French as La France de l'expansion, 2: L'apogée Pompidou
1969-1974 by Editions du Seuil 1995 and © Editions du Seuil.
First published in England by Editions de la Maison des Sciences de 1’Homme
and Cambridge University Press 2000 as The Pompidou Years, 1969-1974
English translation © Maison des Sciences de I’Homme and Cambridge
University Press 2000
This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take
place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2000
Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge
Typeset in 10/12pt Plantin [ce]
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress cataloguing in publication data
Berstein, Serge.
[Apogée Pompidou. English]
The Pompidou Years, 1969-1974 / Serge Berstein and Jean-Pierre Rioux.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0 521 58061 7 (hardback)
1. Pompidou, Gèorges, 1911-1974.
2. France - Politics and government - 1969-1974.
3. Presidents - France - Biography.
I. Rioux, Jean-Pierre, 1939- II. Title.
DC421.B4713 2000
944.083'7'092-dc21 99-23268 CIP
ISBN 0 521 58061 7 hardback
ISBN 2 7351 0839 2 hardback (France only)
The first part of this book was written by Serge
Berstein and the second by Jean-Pierre Rioux.
Contents
List of illustrations page xi
List of tables xii
List of abbreviations xiii
Chronological summary xvi
1 The republic of Georges Pompidou 1
1 Change and continuity 3
A decisive test for the Fifth Republic 3
The candidature of Georges Pompidou 5
Support from the right and ‘opening’ to the centre 6
The left in tatters 8
The candidature of Alain Poher 9
The 1969 election campaign 10
Georges Pompidou’s electoral victory 14
Georges Pompidou’s conception of government 16
The Chaban-Delmas government takes shape 19
2 The ‘New Society’, 1969-1971 22
Foreign policy: holding the line 22
The enlargement of the EEC 25
A buoyant economy amid danger signals 27
The economic policy of Georges Pompidou 29
The ‘New Society’ 33
Policies for social progress 36
A drive for political liberalization 39
Maintaining order and fighting the remnants of leftism 41
Policies crowned with success 44
3 The government in crisis, 1971-1972 48
Tensions at the heart of government 48
Tensions within the majority: the Gaullists 50
Tensions within the majority: the Independent Republicans 55
The ambiguities of centrism 57
ix
X Contents
The opposition: the Epinay congress and the foundation of
the new Parti socialiste 60
The opposition: leftism and communism 62
The government runs out of steam and into scandals 64
The April 1972 referendum 66
The dismissal of Chaban-Delmas 68
4 Endgame, 1972-1974 70
The Messmer government 70
Preparing for the 1973 elections: the opposition 72
Preparing for the 1973 elections: the majority 74
The 1973 elections 76
A conservative crackdown 83
Discontent within the UDR and the issue of the presidential
succession 85
The failure to introduce five-year presidential terms 87
A skipperless ship? 89
The death of Georges Pompidou 92
Conclusion to part 1 94
2 France under Georges Pompidou 99
5 The growth-rate society 101
The industrial imperative 102
The rise of the groupe central 111
Urban dynamism 121
The reprieve of rural France 133
6 The outbreak of prosperity 141
Rising incomes and widening disparities 142
Consumption takes off 149
Leisure and private life 159
The supply and demand of teaching 168
7 A splintered culture 180
The deconstruction of culture cultivée 180
The advent of mass culture 189
Fragmented beliefs and values 202
The emergence of a public culture 209
Conclusion to part 2 216
Notes 223
Bibliography 248
Index 260
